Training & Exercise 

Emergency preparedness training and exercises are not open to the public. Community Outreach events are open to the public. Official agency representatives who want to observe exercises may contact the Office of Emergency Management about attending.

Exercise Schedule

Exercises are a key component of national preparedness—they provide elected and appointed officials and stakeholders from across the whole community with the opportunity to shape planning, assess and validate capabilities, and address areas for improvement in a low-risk environment.

Training Schedule

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers free Independent Study (IS) online courses that are available to the general public on a wide variety of topics. To learn more about the Independent Study Program and view available courses click here.

Check this page often to see what training opportunities are available throughout the region. Current and upcoming classes are listed below.

Title Dates Location Description
Indivudial Assistance 101
Monday
10/7/19
Tuesday
10/8/19
 MEMA SEOC This two-day workshop explores a wide range of FEMA Individual Assistance programs, procedures, and responsibilities to help state and local emergency management professionals plan, prepare, and put into action disaster recovery best-practices. Topics include: disaster recovery centers; access and functional needs; preliminary damage assessments (PDA); temporary housing; the Individual Assistance sequence of delivery, including Small Business Association (SBA) practices; disaster survivor assistance teams (DSAT); IA programs such as Crisis Counseling, Other Needs Assistance, and Disaster Case Management; secure data sharing policies (e.g. Routine Use Requests). Instruction for this workshop is provided by FEMA Region III Recovery experts. 

G191: Incident Command System / Emergency Operations Center Interface

Registration

 Tuesday
10/8/19
 City Hall of Bowie

The course provides an opportunity for emergency management and response personnel to begin developing an Incident Command System (ICS)/Emergency Operations Center (EOC)interface for their communities. The course reviews ICS and EOC responsibilities and functions and depends heavily on exercises and group discussions to formulate an interface. This course works best when delivered to Incident Command System and Emergency Operations Center personnel from the same community.

Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Tuesday
10/8/19
Wednesday
10/9/19
 MEMA Room 1 & 2 This is an intermediate level training course that incorporates exercise guidance and best practices from the HSEEP Volumes. Throughout the course, participants will learn about topics including exercise program management, design and development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning. In addition to the instructor led presentations, the course includes small group activities, videos, group discussions, and introductions to HSEEP-related initiatives such as technology (e.g., HSEEP Toolkit) and capabilities-based planning.
SEOC 101

Registration
Tuesday 10/29/19
 MEMA SEOC An orientation for all New State Coordinating Function personnel from State agencies and external EM partners, also new MEMA employees or those wishing to refresh their knowledge of SEOC operations. 
PER 343: Social Media Engagement Strategies

Wednesday
10/30/19
 Prince George's County Emergency Operations Center This training is designed to enhance the student’s knowledge and skills to implement strategies to better engage individuals and partner organizations. Attendees will experience more in-depth training in the use of social media content types, engagement strategies, and measurement tools. Attendees will participate in group activities throughout the course and increase, their abilities to create a social media strategy and better adapt to changing needs and strategies throughout the phases of emergency management. 
PER 344: Social Media Tools and Techniques

Registration
 Thursday
10/31/19
 Prince George's County Emergency Operations Center Attendees will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to use social media tools and techniques for intermediate-level messaging, strategy, and increased situational awareness. Build upon your existing knowledge with more in-depth training in the use of strategy, tools, and messaging techniques in the use of social media. Learn valuable concepts beyond the implementation of the most popular tools and strategies and of how to expand your organization's social media presence in various platforms to different audiences, in partnership with other agencies and organizations. Better your understanding of data mining and crowd-sourcing techniques through practical activities and discuss potential uses for data visualization

Upcoming Conferences

We encourage our staff to increase their general knowledge and learn about new trends and best practices while providing them with the opportunity to establish new working relationships with other professionals. Here are some of the training venues you will find Annapolis OEM staff this year:

  • National Hurricane Conference (April 22-25)
    The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition, the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management.
  • National Homeland Security Conference (UASI) (June 17-20)
    The National Homeland Security Conference provides a direct bridge to connect and share best practices among those charged with keeping our Nation safe.  Attendees typically include Homeland Security professionals, Emergency Managers and planners, public safety representatives from every response discipline, local, State, and Federal government leaders from the largest metropolitan areas in the 50 states and U.S. territories, as well as subject matter experts from the private sector.
  • International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Conference (November 15-20)
    The IAEM Annual Conference provides a forum to discuss current trends and topics, share information about the latest tools and technology in emergency management and homeland security, and advance the work of IAEM. Conference sessions encourage stakeholders at all levels of government, the private sector, public health and related professions to exchange ideas and collaborate to protect lives and property from disaster.

NOTE: These conferences are available to the general public and will have a fee attached in order to attend. For more information, click on the name of the event that interests you.